In today’s gospel, the Lord tells his followers that He himself is the bread that came down from heaven. He promises that anyone who eats his flesh will not die but will live forever. The Church pairs this gospel reading with the story from the First Book of Kings where the prophet Elijah was fed with food from heaven given to him by God’s angel. That food strengthened him and empowered him to walk to meet God on his holy mountain. 

The writer of the First Book of Kings tells us that, “Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert”. It is worth recalling here that Elijah’s journey into the desert began in flight from danger. Queen Jezebel threatened to Elijah within 24 hours as a consequence for his actions. Elijah had executed all false prophets in Israel which numbered in the hundreds. Elijah fled to a solitary place where he could not be found. Elijah in this trip represents humanity: Israel, the church, and each human being. Life is a journey through this world which at times is uncertain and dangerous.

The sacred author continues, “Elijah came to a solitary broom tree and sat beneath it”. Elijah represents Adam and Eve after original sin, lost under the forbidden tree. The sacred author adds, “Elijah prayed for death saying: This is enough, O Lord! Take my life, for I am not better than my fathers”. Elijah represents humanity under the power of sin before the coming of the Savior. Humanity under the power of sin had no hope for a better outcome in spiritual life than that of Adam and Eve. Living with fear from spiritual enemies that threaten us results in fatigue and despair.

The sacred author continues, “Elijah lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree”. Slumber in the Holy Scriptures represents spiritual laziness otherwise known as sloth. The sacred author goes on, “Then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water”. The angel represents God himself who comes to the rescue of fallen humanity. The angel offers Elijah that which will strengthen and empower him to continue in his journey toward God’s Mountain.

This amazing story is the history of salvation in a nutshell. The angel symbolizes and foreshadows the Son of God who came into this world to wake us up from the slumber of sin. The Lord indeed wakes us up through his saving Word. Saint Thomas Aquinas taught that, it is the Word of God that shakes us up and pushes us beyond ourselves that we might be saved.

The hearth cake symbolizes and foreshadows the Eucharist. The angel ordered Elijah to get up and eat. To the dead people that the Lord brought back to life, he always ordered them to arise. The grace of God in Baptism is what brings us back to life. The sacred author continues, “After he ate and drank, Elijah lay down again, but the angel of the Lord came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, ‘Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you’”. In life we run the risk of falling asleep in sin again and again. Thanks be to God that the Lord is the seeker of souls and the Good Shepherd who is always in search of the lost sheep.

The Lord again and again wakes us up from the slumber of sin and commands us to eat from his Precious Body. The Eucharist is what nourishes us in our spiritual journey through life. The Lord knows well that without his divine sustenance our earthly journey will be too long and hard to bear.

The sacred author concludes, “Then strengthened by that food, Elijah walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb”. The Lord left the Eucharist to the Church to assure her He will take her to God’s Mountain, which is eternal life in heaven. 

Let us humbly ask the Lord to grant us his grace to, as the Psalmist exhorts us today to do, “Taste and see how good the Lord is”.